Wednesday, 7 December 2011

Time to bring in the marketing experts?

Every company, whether small and local or large and
multinational, will find itself going through peaks and troughs. Depending on
where the problem lies – whether it is the result of external market forces or
problems within the company itself – there are certain times when it may behove
you to call in the services of a professional marketing company.

These exist to
help businesses develop methods to keep bringing in new clients and present
their goods and services to the world in the best possible way. But how do you
know when your company might benefit from a little help in this department?

Here are some signs to look out for:

Behind the competition?: If your biggest competitors seem to
be everywhere you turn, it may well be because they’ve devised a more
effective marketing strategy than you have. You don’t want to lose out to
them, so this is the time to hire an expert in before you begin to lose
customers to them. If you’re less visible than your competitors, who are
clients going to choose?

Not enough time: If you’re constantly putting things off, or
you and your employees never have enough time in the day, it may well be
that you have overextended yourself. If this is the case then there is no
way you are going to be able to devote the necessary amount of time to
promotion. Hiring in a marketing company will pay two-fold in this
situation: Firstly, they will re-invigorate your marketing strategy; and
secondly, they should be able to suggest practical ways for you to make
better use of your time.

Lack of leads: This is one of the clearest signs that your
marketing strategy is failing somewhere. Rather than sitting back and
waiting for the customers to come to you, you should be using all means at
your disposal – print media, billboards, the internet, word-of-mouth or
whatever else you can think of – to get your message out there. If you aren’t
getting the leads then you clearly aren’t doing this in the most effective
way, or often enough. Time, then, to seek outside advice.

High employee turnover: This can be for many reasons, but
employees will often be dissatisfied if they feel there is a lack of
direction or structure to their role. A clear marketing strategy gives
employees something to focus on, and also creates a more dynamic, positive
working atmosphere are the new business begins to come in. Bringing in the
services of a marketing company for a limited period of time will set you
on the right track and hopefully ensure your staff feel motivated enough
to stick around.